On March 22, 2017, the Supreme Court decided Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc. 1 The Court’s 6-2 majority held that the pictorial and graphic designs on Varsity Brands’ cheerleading uniforms were separable from the uniforms’ utilitarian functions, and therefore eligible for copyright protection.2 While many commentators are touting this decision as a big…
Year: 2017
German Prosecutor’s Raid Weakens DOJ Bargaining Power
Sally Yates, the former Deputy Attorney General, released a memorandum on September 9, 2015, known as the “Yates Memo.”1 The Yates Memorandum made fighting corporate fraud—specifically, targeting individual, executive bad actors—a top priority for the United States Department of Justice’s (DOJ) criminal division.2 As a result, large international corporations have increasingly hired third-party law firms…
Corporate Law in Post-Communist Countries: Changes in the Czech Republic
Within every legal system, corporate law serves the immensely important function of regulating influential economic actors and economic affairs. It is therefore crucial that corporate law attracts the necessary academic and legislative attention to pursue perpetual development of an appealing framework that will not itself be an obstacle for economic activities and operations. For post-communist…
Delaware Courts Should Add Meaning to Caremark’s Board Oversight Standards in the Cybersecurity Context
A prior blog post on corporate governance and cybersecurity mentioned recent high-profile cyberattacks on companies like Sony, Home Depot, Target, and Yahoo, and discussed the growing role the board of directors has in overseeing a corporation’s cybersecurity risk management.1 That blog post ended noting that, given the complexity of cybersecurity, the severe consequences an attack…
Can the U.S. Improve Its International Competitiveness as a FinTech Hub?
My last blog post1 discussed the cumbersome financial regulations for FinTech firms in the United States, specifically as related to money transmitter laws. The nation’s challenging regulatory scheme may induce FinTech firms’ to do business in countries with friendlier regulatory environments like the United Kingdom. In an effort to be more accommodating to FinTech, the U.S….
Money Transmitter Laws and FinTech in the United States
Cumbersome and numerous, financial regulations in the United States have proven to be a daunting task for FinTech firms to navigate. The U.S. banking sector has a significant regulatory structure that can vary from state to state. This makes things difficult for FinTech firms because there is persistent confusion about what regulations apply to FinTech.1…
Implications for “Unicorn” Startups of the SEC’s Investigation of Theranos
Elizabeth Holmes aimed to revolutionize the blood test industry and was once regarded as a wunderkind that would become the Steve Jobs of the biotech industry. The company she founded, Theranos, was seen as one of the “unicorn” startups in Silicon Valley, a term given to startups that are privately-held and valued at $1 billion or more.1 Unfortunately,…
Missing Oxford Comma Costs Dairy Business Millions
In O’Connor v. Oakhurst Dairy, the First Circuit overruled a lower court and held that a group of drivers for a dairy company were collectively owed millions of dollars in overtime pay, all over a missing Oxford comma.1 In a list of three or more items—for example, bacon, egg, and cheese—the Oxford comma is the…
Legal and Practical Effects of the South China Sea Arbitration Award (Part II of II)
Part I of this two-part blog post (available here) discussed the legal effects of findings by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (the Tribunal) in its South China Sea Arbitration award of July 2016. 1 In Part II, I will discuss the practical implications of those legal effects, with a particular focus on the shipping, energy, and fishing…
Life Sciences Firms at Risk of Strike Suits?
In recent years, the life science industry has been a primary target for securities fraud class action lawsuits as “nearly one out of every four securities fraud class action lawsuits filed in 2016 was brought against a life sciences company.”1 These fraudulent class action lawsuits have become increasingly common as 2016 highlighted a 70% increase…